Jared Harris talks Sherlock Holmes 2

May 6, 2011 - By Liam Goodwin

Since being cast as Moriarty (the shadowy figure who was revealed to be the mastermind behind Rachel McAdams’ dirty work) in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows we haven’t really heard much from Jared Harris regarding the role.

However, in a recent interview the actor spoke about playing the villain in the film and, while he doesn’t reveal any story details, he mentions we won’t be getting one of those scenes where the villain reveals his motives at length during the final act (before being thwarted by the hero and subsequently defeated/killed).

What do you hope you bring to the role?“My thing was, I just never wanted to explain myself. There’s always that scene where the villain has to tell you what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. Guy luckily agreed with me and so did Robert. Why? Why do we need that? You’re not going to explain yourself or what you’re doing. There’s a sort of arrogance about the character that’s similar to Sherlock Holmes. They’re both incredibly intelligent people, they’re chess masters thinking many moves down the line. They don’t know all of their opponents moves but they’ve got a lot of them. They’re 20 moves ahead on their own plan. I just always wanted to create a sense that he had something else up his sleeve. As you unfold the story there’s another step involved.”

Is it a challenge to make him seem believable?“You want him to seem believable but there’s a certain element of villainey, he isn’t just a bad school teacher. He’s an evil villainous person otherwise he’s not worth stopping. As soon as you know what the villain is doing you lose interest in the character and as soon as they state their purpose the tension goes out of the character. So often in these movies the bad guy appears as a theatrical villain, he ends up telling you what he’s done or what he’s going to do. Like a play you can’t move the scenery around so you’re describing events you’re never going to see.”

Villain revelation scenes are usually tiresome and cheesy, so it’s good to see they will be treating the audience like adults by letting them figure the story out for themselves.

As well as Harris, the film will also star The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo actress Noomi Rapace who plays a French Gypsy. We also see the return of Jude Law as Watson and Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes, with Stephen Fry playing his older brother Mycroft.